Time for some recent history

The Stupa (Buddhist memorial)

Our time in Cambodia was very rushed and so we only had time for two places-Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Phnom Penh is known for the horrific killings that took place under the Paul Potts regime only 30 years ago and so the Choeung Ek Killing Fields are a frequently visited spot by tourists. The killing fields, as the name suggests, were where over a million Cambodians were taken to be slaughtered, so although it wasn't the most enjoyable trip it was one that needed to be done. It was a pretty gruesome experience walking past mass grave after mass grave, with fragments of bone and pieces of clothing still being found today. There was an audio tour around the site which was really informative and included extracts from people who suffered under the regime.

Inside the Stupa were more than 5000 skulls 

These mass graves were spread over the site

 

Area cordoned off due to fragments still being found

Known as the "Baby tree"

The executions were carried out using killings tools such as shackles and knives, bullets were considered too expensive. However defectors from the Khmer Rouge were beheaded.

Next on our itinerary was to visit the Tuol Sleng detention centre or S21. It was originally a school but under Kymer Rouge rule it was converted to a prison. The prisoners from this would eventually end up at the killing fields, lots of whom were political prisoners. Now a museum, the buildings have photos of all the prisoners, even women with young babies.

Paul Potts- head of the Khmer Rouge

The sports apparatus used by the school boys had been adapted for torture and there was barbed wire around the buildings to prevent suicide attempts from the upper levels. This day was really worthwhile but left us feeling emotionally drained.

Make-shift prison cells 

Evidence that it was previously a school

7 million bikes, one day to see it...Saigon

After cutting Nha Trang out of our itinerary and flying through most of the country we landed in Ho Chi Minh city. We had been warned it was very like Bangkok, full of people and motorbikes and with a population of over 7 million motor bikes in one city they weren't wrong.

Model of the tunnel system

 Having spent too much time in other parts of the country we left ourselves with only one full day, so we travelled to the 250km range of Cu Chi Tunnels. Cu chi is an area which was very involved in the Vietnamese war. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for the fighters. There are 3 levels of tunnels, the first is 2m below the surface, 120cm high and 90cm wide so not really made for western sized people! The deepest tunnel was not used often as oxygen was in short supply and it was only 70cm high and 50cm wide. Around the site there are also examples of the traps they used on the Americans which all involve nasty looking spikes and large holes! When we first arrived we were shown a short movie about the use of the tunnels and it became obvious very quickly that it was going to be a very one sided report of the war as the Americans were called the 'fat devil workers'. Before we were given the chance to go inside the tunnel we were taken to a shooting range where you could shoot all types of guns with no permit which we found slightly wrong as so many people lost their lives in the same spot. Then at last the time came to venture into the tunnels and we headed down to the entrance... only to wuss out at the last minute! Until that moment we hadn't fully appreciated how small and claustrophobic they were!

Tank used by the Americans 

One of the tiny escape holes from the tunnels

Different types of traps used by the Vietnamese.

Entrance to the tunnels

This is how far we got before panicking! 

With only one night in Ho Chi Minh city we decided to make the most of it and really experience the city... So we hunted down a cinema to watch the final twilight film! It was an odd experience as the Vietnamese like to talk throughout the film and not really pay attention to what is going on. The guy sitting next to us had 3 different phone conversations in the one film. Luckily the cinema must be aware of this and so the volume was extremely loud and slightly deafening!

 Our time in Vietnam was finally over and so we jumped on a bus all set for Cambodia, only to realise that Sarah's phone wasn't quite ready to leave and was still at the hostel! Luckily after days of phone calls and trips to various bus companies her phone joined us in Phnom Penh.

Home away from home

Although travelling is supposed to be about emersing yourself in the culture of the country you are visiting we found ourself in a situation where we really wished we weren't quite so emersed. On the way back from the farm stay we had to get a train quite late at night which meant there were no soft seats (the normal carriage for westerners!) which meant we were on what is known as a "hard seat". This is basically a park bench on a train! Not only did the seat make our bums go numb but we were squished into the carriage which was full of Vietnamese all trying to sleep everywhere, under the benches and up the ailes. Obviously westerners in the hard seats is a rare occurrence as many kept asking to see our tickets to check we were in the right place! Let's just say it was one of the longest journeys we went through in Vietnam. 

Our favourite bar!

The next stop on our journey south through Vietnam was Hoi An. This quickly became one of our favourite places which resulted in us extending our 2 nights to 5 nights! We stayed in a gorgeous hotel which was ten minutes away from both the beach and the town centre. Friends that we met at the farm stay also came to Hoi An and so we soon became a group of 6 and since 3 of them could drive motorbikes we conveniently had chauffeurs for the week! Hoi An is supposedly famous for it's numerous tailors, all of which are more than happy to take your measurements and produce your favourite item of clothing in a matter of hours. So obviously we took full advantage. After deciding to make our way down the line of shops and see where we could pick up a bargain, we stopped in the first shop and were hooked. We now each have a beautiful dress individually designed and fitted perfectly, all we need is a party!

Hoi An town centre

"Japanese Covered Bridge"

One of the sights we wanted to visit whilst in Hoi An was the Japanese Covered Bridge. Unfortunately due to some wrong information we thought we had found it, so took some pictures then left feeling it wasn't as impressive as we had expected. Turns out this is not the right bridge and the real covered bridge was just 2 minutes further down the river, around the corner!  

Riverside where festival took place

Luckily since we decided to stay longer we were able to see the lantern festival which takes place on the full moon. We unfortunately missed most of it but we did get there in time to set off a floating candle and take a quick boat ride on the river. What we noticed a lot throughout Vietnam is that the children are all able to speak a little english and so they are the ones that bargain with you whilst their parents wait for the money. It leaves you feeling rather mean when you are arguing with an 8 year old about a measly $1 difference.

Selling lanterns

Even though we were travelling down the coast this is the first place we hit the beach. Despite being bombarded by hawkers on the beach, the scenery was stunning and the water was gorgeous to swim in, so we spent a couple of days topping up our tan!

Hoi An Beach

Beautiful sunset 

On route to the airport our taxi driver insisted we had enough time to do some sight seeing, so we stopped briefly to see Marble Mountain. There were huge chunks of marble just lying around but also lots of shops selling marble statues. Unfortunately we had already exceeded our baggage allowance and so buying a statue was not an option.

Marble Mountain 

"Rave in a Cave"

We thought it was time to go off the beaten tourist track so headed to Phong Nha Farmstay. We had pictured a couple of days relaxing in the National Park- this was not to be! Our first day was a trip into the National Park itself. Our guides Petra, German, and Benny, English, were really friendly and gave us loads of information about the history, geology and biology of the park. We drove around the park on Highway 20 which was used during the American war to transport goods between the north and south. We stopped along the way to look at the limestone cliffs with scars from where the bombs hit and caves where the Vietnamese hide during the bombings. We also looked at the only waterfall in the entire park. Another stop was to see a military bridge that lies above the original Ho Chi Minh trail and to this day it is kept in pristine condition as the Vietnamese fear the Chinese will invade.

Scars on the limestone

Tiny hiding cave

Next it was time to pretend we were in Jurassic Park by taking golf buggies through the jungle to Paradise Cave. Until recently it was the biggest cave in Vietnam but now has the title of the longest dry cave in Asia because Son Doong was discovered in 2009. This is believed to be the biggest cave in the world but unfortunately is too dangerous for tourists to visit. Paradise Cave was impressive enough for us though. We walked 1km into it on a boardwalk whilst the cave was lit by white lights which made it far less tacky than the disco lights experienced in Halong Bay Cave.

Paradise Cave

Then after the biggest pile of rice for lunch we headed to the river to swim and cool down. The water was a gorgeous blue although the current kept sweeping people down the river until they hit a well positioned rope.


The last activity on the agenda was kayaking, although we weren't given much more information than that. This was because we only spent 5 minutes going in circles in rubber dinghy's they call kayaks before reaching the entrance of Dark Cave. This is kept a surprise to avoid people chickening out. Once at the cave we put on a head torch and a life jacket before wandering into the darkness. We swam and stumbled 200m into the cave where we were made to turn off our torches. It was so pitch black we couldn't see our own hands in front of our faces. To help everyone calm down after the dark cave our guides produced 2 bottles of rum and refused to leave until they were both finished! This made for a merry trip home even though we missed the sunset.

Our second day involved hiring bikes to visit Phong Nha Cave, after which the National Park is named. We cycled 5km through the country and villages before jumping on a dragon boat to visit the cave. At this time of the year the water is just low enough for boats to enter although the engine had to be turned off and our guides paddle. This was so the boat could be slowly steered avoiding the cave ceiling. After yet more food we started the cycle home. It was an eventful ride with children throwing things at us and hitting us when we didn't give them money and dogs viciously chasing our bikes! Despite this, the 2 days spent at the Farmstay were our favourite in Vietnam and we highly recommend it.

Phong Nha Cave 

Tight squeeze!

catching drips...in a cave?

Farmstay

Central Vietnam here we come!

Hanoi

Back in Hanoi we grabbed some sought after tickets to see the world famous Thang Long water puppets. Although we had never heard of them before they have won awards internationally and were more fun to watch than traditional puppets. The stage is a shallow pool where the puppets perform attached to long rods, which are controlled by people behind curtains. There was a live band accompanying it which was full of vietnamese instruments. The whole show lasted about 45mins in which they used the puppets to tell some of the history and traditions in Vietnam. It was pretty weird but it was in an air-conditioned theatre which we appreciated as we are having issues with the heat.

Looks like she is playing air- there is infact an instrument there!

That evening we experienced our first sleeper bus which took us to Hue (pronounced hway, and approx 12 hours from Hanoi). We had imagined what it would be like- turns out they are nothing like the Harry Potter Night bus! Although they did have almost flat seats with a pillow and blanket. Despite the crazy driving and having to pee in holes in the ground, the trip was successful and nothing was stolen yay!

Having decided to spend only one night in Hue we headed out to the main attraction, the old Citadel. It was once the grounds of the Emperor's Palace, although due to the bombings, the buildings are now ruins so it feels like you are in the Jungle Book.

Entrance to Citadel

Waiting for King Louis to appear

From the Citadel we had to go to the train station which was too far to walk and so we took a cyclo. Even after we insisted we would not fit, the driver squished us in and set off. We thought we had experienced being stared at but this journey attracted the attention of all passing Vietnamese, especially when the driver had to get off and push us uphill.

This is a cyclo

Hue backpackers